City of Leipzig

Over the centuries the city of Leipzig and its citizens have made major contributions to the economic and intellectual life in Europe. This special flair of Leipzig can be felt by getting to know its sights. Leipzig attracted famous poets such as Lessing, Klopstock, or Gottsched, and therefore, even the great German poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe called Leipzig "Little Paris". In the last hundred years, Leipzig has turned into a city of European dimensions, which has stimulated the development of economy, technology, science and culture. [Source: www.leipzig.de]

All over the world Leipzig is famous for its musicality, mainly deriving from the musicians Bach and Mendelssohn Bartholdy. The St. Thomas Choir, the Gewandhaus Orchestra, many museums and a lively theater scene mark the cultural life of the city. [Source: www.leipzig.de]

In addition Leipzig offers a great nature in the inner and outer city. Considering the rivers and the newly created lakes (Leipziger Neuseenland) Leipzig is now a respectable water city enabling a rich variety of sport activities. And for those who are tired from all the sights, culture and impressions there are interesting offers in the local bar and restaurant areas like Gottschedstraße, Barfußgässchen and along the Karl-Liebknecht-Straße.

Leipzig as a business location

Located in the middle of Europe and equipped with city status and the right to hold markets since 1165, Leipzig has grown to a major center of trade fair. This development came along with the height periods of Leipzig as a commercial city, which was interrupted mainly due to war.

After German reunification, Leipzig succeeded in becoming an important economic center of Saxony. Major production facilities of Porsche and BMW have been established in Leipzig, as well as companies in the IT sector such as Unister Group and the IT service provider Comparex. Furthermore, the public broadcast network "Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk" and many publisher are located here. Leipzig is also a center of the energy industry with energy suppliers (such as the VNG Verbundnetz Gas AG) and the European Energy Exchange (EEX), the largest energy exchange in Continental Europe.

Over the past few years Leipzig has developed into an important logistics site. In 2006 the online retailer Amazon established a huge logistics center. Moreover, since the establishment of DHL's European air freight hub the airport Leipzig-Halle has grown into one of the most important freight transshipment centers in Europe.   [Source: www.zv.uni-leipzig.de]

Pictures: Torsten Mahlzahn (1), Jürgen Schmidt (2)